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Annual Top 10 Lists
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Top 10 List 2019
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I have not read any of the top ten! Gads, I hope I am not alone in this! For the Honorable Mention, I have read 4 of them-In my defense, I read a lot of older books this year (a lot them recommended by PBT members).
YESSS!!! This is my favorite Top 10 list! I love seeing what the members have read and what we collectively thought rose to the top. Of the Top 11, I have read all of them except:
Educated—on my list for a while, but perhaps this is the year to finally get to it.
Olive, Again—I admit that I am not an Elizabeth Strout fan, but perhaps I should give her one final chance and pick this up.
Lanny—I remember hearing quite a bit about Lanny (Booker contender, right?) but don't really know much about it. Will be looking into it though!
Of the Honorable Mentions, the ones I have not read are:
Lost Children Archive—on my list but I want to get to it in actual hard copy to get the best experience out of it.
The Day the World Came to Town—I have heard about Gander constantly over the last year between the book and the Broadway play! It is on the list!
The Friend—I have literally never heard of this book and do not even remember PBTers reviewing it! Hmmm, I'm skeptical. Animals aren't my jam.
The Man Who Saw Everything—totes on my TBR
The Only Plane in the Sky 2001—this one is a must read for me this year
The Silence of the Girls—ooo, I do love me some Greek myth retellings!
Great list, PBT!
On a separate note, I am interested.....of the 9 people who voted for Daisy Jones & The Six, how many listened to it on audio?I am one of those 9 and I listened to it on audio. While I loved the book and the story, it largely made my list because of the phenomenal audio production.
Just wondering if others who voted for it felt that way as well!
Joanne wrote: "I have not read any of the top ten! Gads, I hope I am not alone in this! For the Honorable Mention, I have read 4 of them-In my defense, I read a lot of older books this year (a lot them recommende..."Nope. You are not alone. I did read one - Educated.
This is pretty typical for me when it comes to Top 10 lists. At least here I have not only heard of most on the list, I have them in my TBR!
Joanne wrote: "I have not read any of the top ten! Gads, I hope I am not alone in this! For the Honorable Mention, I have read 4 of them-In my defense, I read a lot of older books this year (a lot them recommende..."Lol, that is why I mentioned that this year there was quite a bit more diversity in the book choices. I'm not sure if that's because our group dynamic has shifted, or if it was just an especially good year for books and that lead to people reading more widely.
I have noticed now that we seem to have a lot more readers who devour more than 75 books a year - - so that might be broadening our scope as well.
But look what you have to look forward to!!
Hooray for Daisy Jones and I did listen to it on audio. I read Crawdads this year but it didn't make my top 10. Born a Crime and Eleanor oliphant made my top ten the year I read them. Becoming and Educated are definitely on tap for this year. Overall a great list.
Like Nicole, I've read 8 of the 11, and the remaining three are definitely on my TBR. I still have Daisy to look forward to - - YAY! Can't wait. The other two I am missing are The Dutch House (dying to read as well) and Lanny (not sure this is going to be for me, but now that it made the list, I'll probably give it a shot).On the Honorable Mentions, I've read exactly half. I own two more. I will definitely explore the ones I have yet to read and make sure I'm not overlooking a gem!
Anita, I think you’ll like The Dutch House. I actually think you’ll like it more than Daisy Jones!
Nicole R wrote: "YESSS!!! This is my favorite Top 10 list! I love seeing what the members have read and what we collectively thought rose to the top. Nicole give The Friend try-you can look at my review-not so much about the animal as it is about human emotion and animal emotion being so similar-something tells me you might like it-And if not, well it is a quick read
Nicole R wrote: "Anita, I think you’ll like The Dutch House. I actually think you’ll like it more than Daisy Jones!"Oh good! I'm really looking forward to The Dutch House.
As for your unreads, was Olive Kitteridge the Strout you tried and didn't like? Because if so, I'm feeling like you won't like Olive, Again (though I did think it was actually better than Olive Kitteridge). Might not be worth diving in if you don't like Strout because her style really holds true from book to book.
I do think you will like Educated quite a bit.
Rachel N. wrote: "Hooray for Daisy Jones and I did listen to it on audio. I read Crawdads this year but it didn't make my top 10. Born a Crime and Eleanor oliphant made my top ten the year I read them. Becoming and ..."Same for me on Crawdads - - I liked it, but in a 3 star-ish way. But it definitely was one of the big favorites for many readers (not just PBT) this year.
Born a Crime also made my top ten the year I read it.
So this is funny on both the list and the honorable mention, I've read six books and put two on my top 10 list.To answer Nichole, I listened to Daisy Jones and the Six. I don't really do audio and the few I have was because it seemed like the only way to do them. My other listens were Becoming and Born a Crime. I tried to think of Daisy Jones as a book and just didn't think it rated a best of the year. It may be in part because although it was a wonderful audiobook, I don't really like reading books that way.
Nicole, I'm not sure if you would like The Friend. It is largely about
literature and writing, but of course it is about friendship, grief and the dog. I loved this dog and I didn't love the dog in everyone's favorite The Art of Racing in the Rain.
Nicole, I'm not sure how you will like Lost Children Archive. I've heard diverse opinions about the audio version of this. I read the ebook and that worked very well for me. It did make my top 10 list but this is one that people disagreed over.
Anita, is very short and you can breeze through it. I believe that if you read it you will have something interesting to say about it. It did make my top 10.
What I want to read that I haven't from the Top Ten and Honorable Mention:
Where the Crawdads Sing
Olive, Again (but first I have to readOlive Kitteridge)
The Dutch House
The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of September 11, 2001
In defense of The Friend-Nicole, KateNZ read it and 4 starred it too.....I praise this book to everyone...so just ignore me if you want😂
Anita wrote: But look what you have to look forward to!!"..ummm did not read any of them because none of them, and really not one, appealed to me...with the exception of Daisy, and Audio is difficult for me to wrap my head around...
Perhaps I am the only one who read "Daisy Jones and the Six" in the book form. I loved it and listed it in my top ten.
Nicole R wrote: "On a separate note, I am interested.....of the 9 people who voted for Daisy Jones & The Six, how many listened to it on audio?I am one of those 9 and I listened to it on audio. Wh..."
I didn't vote this year. I always feel I'm so far behind everyone else reading the newest and greatest. I rarely get the most recent books. However, on this oneI read the Kindle editon, I couldn't get my hands on the audio at the time I wanted it! I'm so sorry I couldn't but the book was great anyway!
Joanne wrote: "Anita wrote: But look what you have to look forward to!!"..ummm did not read any of them because none of them, and really not one, appealed to me...with the exception of Daisy, and Audio is diffi..."
LOL, well in that case, you can simply look forward to being a PBT outlier who we are very happy to have around!!
From the list, I've read Daisy Jones & The Six, Educated, The Nickel Boys, and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. On the Honorable Mention I've only read There There. On my TBR already are The Great Alone, The Women of the Copper Country, The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland, Where the Crawdads Sing, Olive, Again, Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhoodand The Dutch House.I'm quite sure my TBR is about to grow!
I've read one of these in the past, but am planning to read at least two of them this year.
Joanne wrote: "Nicole give The Friend try-you can look at my review-not so much about the animal as it is about human emotion and animal emotion being so similar-something tells me you might like it-And if not, well it is a quick read."That doesn't really make it sound more appealing to me! lol. I'll keep it in mind if it happens to fit a fairly specific PBT tag in the future though.
Anita wrote: "Nicole R wrote: "As for your unreads, was Olive Kitteridge the Strout you tried and didn't like?"Olive Kitteridge was just blah. And I freaking LOATHED The Burgess Boys.
I know I am in the minority, but her books just feel like they are about absolutely nothing. To me, the characters are bland, nothing happens, and they just end without even some kind of minor point.
I probably won't read Olive, Again because even if it is good, I just have disliked the other books by her that I have read so much that I do not think I can read it without bias.
Just writing that two sentence explanation has me all riled up!
Anita wrote: "I do think you will like Educated quite a bit.."I think I will too! Not really sure why I haven't gotten to it yet. I am just chalking it up to a pretty fluff reading year.
Joanne wrote: "...with the exception of Daisy, and Audio is difficult for me to wrap my head around...."You do not have to listen to it. It was actually published in hard copy form too ;)
Barbara M wrote: "I always feel I'm so far behind everyone else reading the newest and greatest. I rarely get the most recent books. "This is kind of a weird thing with the voting of this list. I actually think that PBTers read a really wide range of books! If anything, perhaps light on really new releases in comparison with everything else.
And yet, the Top 10 list is often dominated by books that have been published in the last two to three years.
I would guess it has something to do with math. And frequencies. And probability. Because there are a finite number of books you can possibly read published this year and near infinite number of books you can read through all of history, the probability that more PBT members read the same new books as opposed to the same old books is higher.
So while each PBT member may only have a handful of newer release books on their Top 10, they happen to be the same books.
Or perhaps it is just marketing! lol
I digress. But it is something I have noticed too!
I think it has a lot to do with how Booker focused we get ... Since so many of us read for booker (i.e. Lanny ...) But the Booker books ended up in HM this year. Incidentally, The Friend had a lot of Booker buzz, ultimately didn't make the list.
Nicole R wrote: "Barbara M wrote: "I always feel I'm so far behind everyone else reading the newest and greatest. I rarely get the most recent books. "This is kind of a weird thing with the voting of this list. I..."
I think that the books that are highlighted on the year end lists are big influences on what is read the following year . . .so the releases might not be brand NEW, but they are books that have been hyped the year or two prior. And then there does seem to be a break out book or two, usually published early in the year, that gets great word of mouth.
Agree that at least a handful of us are very Booker focused and that also drives at least some favorites as we've read a bunch of the nominees.
Nicole R wrote: "Anita wrote: "Nicole R wrote: "As for your unreads, was Olive Kitteridge the Strout you tried and didn't like?"Olive Kitteridge was just blah. And I freaking LOATHED The Burgess Boys.
I know I ..."
Lol, don't hold back! I haven't read Burgess Boys, but you definitely don't sound like the right reader for Strout, and I don't think Olive, Again will magically be the exception.
I think Strout has a lot to say about life in general, and aging in particular. Olive, Again is very focused on the end of life, so that may make it harder for younger readers to find it interesting.
But again, I think it won't be a good use of your limited reading time because her style is definitely the same.
Interesting list. Actually I loved it because the first top three were on my top three. I felt about crawdads very powerfully even though I understood why some folks had difficulty with it. I just thought for the beauty of the writing and the images in evoked, that I understood the hype and found myself adding it in over other things. I’m reading Educated now, albeit quite slowly as I am reading it with my almost 17 year old son, the one I gave previously called illiterate, but us coming around nicely. He’s also slogging through bear town for the second time, and is really liking it the second time around. The Dutch House I just hadn’t gotten to yet, and I imagine it will be on a lot of 2020 top ten lists. I ended up not picking a ladder from the sky although I believe it was an honorable mention. Although I really loved it. But I did pick hearts invisible furies for top 10 for the decade and my guess is that will absolutely make the list. I’ve seen others agree.
You all know I have mixed feelings on Eleanor, and I enjoyed Born a Crime. But I really want to turn my thoughts to Nicole‘s feelings on Olive again. She knows I completely agree with her. I never liked the first olive and I’m not going near the second. It just was not my boat. I’ve been a mixed bag on that author. I actually liked the burgess boys and Amy and Isabelle. But not the depressing one last year with the daughter and the mother. Everyone loved that one and it just didn’t move me. Again, that’s what makes the group like this so great. Because we are all quite diverse.
Anita wrote: "Nicole R wrote: "Barbara M wrote: "I always feel I'm so far behind everyone else reading the newest and greatest. I rarely get the most recent books. "I think that the books that are highlighted on the year end lists are big influences on what is read the following year . . .so the releases might not be brand NEW, but they are books that have been hyped the year or two prior. ..."
I agree with this, I am influenced this way for sure. I have voted in past years, not sure why I skipped it this year. I won't skip the voting next year,
Nicole R wrote: "Anita wrote: "Nicole R wrote: "As for your unreads, was Olive Kitteridge the Strout you tried and didn't like?"Olive Kitteridge was just blah. And I freaking LOATHED The Burgess Boys.
I know I ..."
I am so enjoying the discussion about books in this thread. I thought that I was the only one who did not like Olive Kitteridge.
(I also disliked The Burgess Boys.) When the new Olive came out and was widely acclaimed, I did try to read it and have an open mind. I gave the book more than a fair chance and then put it aside. Something about Olive herself rubs me the wrong way. I don't like how abrasive and judgemental she is.
A great list! I’ve read all but one of the top ten (Becoming, which I have no plans to read), and three of them were in my top ten (The Dutch House, The Nickel Boys, Olive Again). I’ve been enjoying non-fiction a lot more lately so I’m really looking forward to reading some of the honourable mention titles.
I’m covering my ears and will hear no ill will spoken of Olive. 🤣
Well, I am looking forward to your reviews on Non-Fiction Susie-One of my go-to genres, and I always trust your opinion, even though our tastes vary!
Thanks Joanne! The feeling is mutual. I have been so slack with adding my reviews lately. I plan to improve.
I have only read one of the top 11 (Born a Crime), though "Where the Crawdads Sing" is coming up later this year for my book club.ETA: I've read 2 honourable mentions:
The Heart's Invisible Furies was on my top 10 last year.
The Day The World Came to Town was in my top 10 this year.
I added to my TBRDaisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
I have on my TBR
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
by Gail Honeyman
I have read
Educated by Tara Westover
Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
by David Grann
Shelving done!https://www.goodreads.com/group/books...
Both Eleanor Oliphant and Educated also made the 2018 top 10. Born a Crime made our top 10 in both 2017 and 2018, in addition to this year!
I read The Nickel Boys and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, and for honorable mentions I read Bad Blood and There There... Seeing Eleanor on this list especially warms my heart because that book warmed my heart *>_<*I do tend to have a good mix of backlist and new releases, but I tend to get to the newer stuff because I am inevitably pulled in by the hype machine. Sometimes the over-saturation of publicity for a book gets me obsessed with reading it. Or I hear an interview on The New York Times Book Review podcast and become obsessed with reading something (like Heavy).
Meli wrote: "I do tend to have a good mix of backlist and new releases, but I tend to get to the newer stuff because I am inevitably pulled in by the hype machine.."I am also someone who reads a lot of new releases. I think something like 47 of the 90 books I read this past year were published in 2019, with another 15 or so published in 2018.
I think I am just overwhelmed by options if I choose from ALL THE BOOKS EVER PUBLISHED. lol
Eleanor Oliphant is the only one I've read for the top 10 but this does not surprise me because I do tend to be a bit strange when it comes to books (or anything really).
Anita wrote: "Drum roll please . . . .There was a clear first place winner this year, and that was, with 9 votes:
Daisy Jones & The Six
Tied for 2nd and 3rd place are:
[book:Becoming|387464..."
On the top 10, I've only read Lanny, but most of the others are on my TBR. I read three of the HMs, two made my top 10 list this year (On Earth and Lost Children), and one last year (There There).
I've read 3 of the top 10 (Daisy Jones, Educated, Born a Crime) and 3 of the Honorable Mentions (Killers of the Flower Moon, Map of Salt & Stars, There there).On my TBR: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, The Women of Copper Country.
I'm grateful to PBT and all of its members for the always-growing list of amazing book recommendations to choose from.
Nicole R wrote: "I think I am just overwhelmed by options if I choose from ALL THE BOOKS EVER PUBLISHED. lol"Same :P
Even just going back to the best of for a few years ago is overwhelming!
Meli, we should see what other books we may be interested in reading. I always try to see what you are adding to your shelf. We may not like all the same books, but we do have a bit of overlap!
Jen wrote: "Eleanor Oliphant is the only one I've read for the top 10 but this does not surprise me because I do tend to be a bit strange when it comes to books (or anything really)."Glad to have you aboard the "weird/strange" car
Nicole R wrote: "Meli, we should see what other books we may be interested in reading. I always try to see what you are adding to your shelf. We may not like all the same books, but we do have a bit of overlap!"I can't remember if I did a "compare books" on your page or not, so I am going to check that out again.
I have been trying to not add more to my want-to-read, but any of those or my "tbr" shelf are ones I am wanting to read.... "tbr" being more urgent since I physically own those.
Nicole R wrote: "On a separate note, I am interested.....of the 9 people who voted for Daisy Jones & The Six, how many listened to it on audio?I am one of those 9 and I listened to it on audio. Wh..."
I voted for Daisy Jones & The Six, but read it in book form. Now I feel I should have listened to it on audio.
AJ wrote: "I love Play Book Tag so much but it is clear that my reading tastes don’t always align with the group because I have only read one of these. Not that I wouldn’t necessarily enjoy them, just they do..."Same for me! I love the fact that everyone reads different things though and if we read the same ones everyone is respectful of each other's opinions so difference remains that not an argument, as I've seen on other sites.
I've read 5 of the top 11 (yes, there are eleven books on this list), two of which made my top 10: Becoming and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.Of the honorable mentions:
I've read four (none of which made my top 10 in the year I read them)
Play Book Tag
Books mentioned in this topic
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine (other topics)Becoming (other topics)
Daisy Jones & The Six (other topics)
Daisy Jones & The Six (other topics)
The Nickel Boys (other topics)
More...
There was a clear first place winner this year, and that was, with 9 votes:
Daisy Jones & The Six
Tied for 2nd and 3rd place are:
Becoming
Where the Crawdads Sing
Alone in 4th place is:
The Nickel Boys
Then for 5 through 7, we had a three way tie:
Educated
Olive, Again
The Dutch House
And rounding out our list with a four way tie were:
A Ladder to the Sky
Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
Lanny
Interestingly, three books on the list made our list last year as well (Educated, Born a Crime, and Eleanor Oliphant). And also an author made a repeat appearance (our PBT fave, Mr. Boyne).
It only took 4 votes this year to make our list. As opposed to last year where it took 5. All in all, our opinions were wider ranging this year. Lots of books had two votes.
The following Honorable Mentions had three votes a piece:
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
Lost Children Archive
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland
The Friend
The Great Alone
The Heart's Invisible Furies
The Man Who Saw Everything
The Map of Salt and Stars
The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of September 11, 2001
The Silence of the Girls
The Women of the Copper Country
There There
Stay tuned for the PBT best of the decade tomorrow!!